The RedRock RV park opened it's gates on May 7th this year. This is 8 days earlier than last year. The park needs to be partially cleared and dried up to open. Nature was less wet this winter than last so we got in earlier this year.

Getting here at the time we did allows us to see the blossoming of spring from the start. But before that starts we experience the cold nights and brisk daily winds coming off the high East Centennial Mountains above us. The mountains are still covered with a heavy dose of snow. Henry's Lake is starting to break up from its winter cover, but there's still plenty of snow around the area. The few days of sun we get help to further melt the snow and feels very good when we are out and about.


The meadows across the street from the RV Park, which in late June and July are covered with a variety of colorful wildflowers are now a bleak, brown field thick with last years wildflowers that spent the winter under many feet of snow. The aspens are still bare, but close examination shows green buds growing rapidly at the tips of the branches. The forest is quiet, save for the occasional crow cries.


The ranchlands around the RV Park are without the normal population of cows, but beneath and between the sagebrush are the first harbingers of spring, the yellow waxy Sagebrush buttercup wildflower and an occasional tiny Wyoming pussytails cropping up. Evident everywhere are tiny sprigs of green whose identity await their further growth.

Today Reggie (my Golden Retriever) and I walked down RedRock Road about a half a mile up into a meadow that will display a wide variety of wildflowers only one to two months from now. The first sign of spring there are the little golden Glacier Lilies popping their heads up through the brown decaying flowers from last season. Occasionally, you'll see the Glacier Lily poking through the remaining snow cover.



The bird feeders are out and seemingly have attracted most of the brown-headed cowbirds from miles around. An occasional beautiful yellow-headed blackbird is mixed within the group along with a white-crowned sparrow. Small yellow finches and red house finches are nearby in another RVer's yard where thistle seed is being served. (I still can't find my finch food bag.) The robins are busy with building their nests. One has decided that our motorhome is too close to its nest in the Spruce tree adjacent and spent the early morning attacking the window (or he's just seeing his reflection and attacking the bird in the window.) Who knows?

On our afternoon walk, Reggie spotted two juvenile Moose right across from the RV park, partially hidden by the aspens. They were trotting in the snow, most likely looking for mom. We followed at quite a distance for 5 minutes and they continued their journey through the forest.

So, while we aren't in the most beautiful part of the season yet, it's comforting to know that all the signs point to its inevitable arrival in the not-too distant future.

As I write this, a gentle rain, mixed with ice, pelts the rooftop of the motorhome to remind us that nature continues its slow march to life. Without the snow and the rain, no life exists here.

Plan on visiting us early this spring to catch the unfolding of life. Yellowstone National Park is only 22 miles from here and we will be visiting it and reporting often. I think this Park is a great base for visiting Yellowstone and the nearby Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, only 20 miles to the west of us.